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The Joy of Family

My kids have been tracked out since the beginning of October.  We had a good first week and then went up to the Lake House for General Conference.  What a wonderful General Conference we had.  I loved Pres. Monson's announcement on the age of missionaries.   What an exciting time to be alive and to see this army grow and go forth even stronger than it has before. 

This was the first conference that I have been able to watch all 4 sessions without a lot of interuption from my children.  They actually all watched each of the sessions with us.  We of course had the incentive that after each speaker they got some candy. They also enjoyed taking turns giving candy to Granmommy, Grandaddy, and KoKo.  I was expecting them to watch one session but by Saturday afternoon we had to go out and get more candy.  They also loved playing Conference Bingo.  It was fun to hear John Derek say "Prayer, I heard them say prayer!"  Then put another piece of candy on his board.  They were all sugared up but I did get to listen to conference so I thought it was worth it.

By Monday morning it was just me and the kids.  I had planned on fishing and enjoying the outdoors when instead we had rain for 2 days.  After 2 days of watching conference inside and 2 more days of staying inside with rain we were ready for a change. 

With the Lord's help we found out that Aunt Angela, Uncle Glenn and 3 of their kids were going to be in Williamsburg, VA with Aunt Ruth and her family.  We decided to invite ourselves up. 

Wed. afternoon we arrived at a beautiful 150 year old home on a georgeous penninsula.  We were greeted by Ruth's 3 oldest, Alex, Elizabeth, and Grant.  Within a few minutes Emma and Becca joined us from school.  Jeff and Ruth each arrived  a little while later and by 5:30 Angela, Ashley, Anna, and Christian were there.  The Cousin's had arrived.  I did not hear from my kids for the next 2 days.  They played and played and played.  We kept offering to go to one of the many sights like Jamestown or Williamsburg but all they wanted to do was play with each other.  They fished for Atlantic Blue crabs off the dock, they looked for Fiddler Crabs at low tide, they climbed trees, and played and played and played. 

We all loved being around family.  It didn't matter if someone was a different age, or had different interests what mattered was that we were family.  Everyone got along and everyone had a wonderful time. 

Thursday afternoon we went to the Astronomical Pancake House in Williamsburg and got huge pancakes.  They were so big they drapped off the plate.  Angela then went with her kids, picked up Glenn from the airport and went to Kitty Hawk for the night. 

Friday morning Ruth didn't have school so she took us to a beach along the river.  My kids had so much fun playing in the sand.  Ruth would bury their feet and turn them into mermaids.  After playing for a long time we went to wash off and play on the playground adjacent to the beach.  Poor John Derek went running onto the grass without shoes and discovered that the grass was covered in burrs.  Ruth ran to his rescue, picked him up and carried him to a chair.  His feet were covered, Ruth held John Derek down and I pulled out the burrs.  Poor little guy.

After recovering from the beach we went to see Ruth's Law School at William and Mary's.  It was beautiful.  We went to the library and then walked from campus to Williamsburg.  What a historical law school to go to.  It was fascinating hearing the history of the first law school in the United States.  It was also amazing to hear about people who were behind the scenes to the forming of our country like George Wythe.  I can only atribute our country to the blessing of God.  As we then watched the Vice Presidential Debate I was saddened by where our country has been and where it is going.  I pray that the people will choose righteously.

Friday evening Glenn and Angela arrived and the cousins went back to playing.  The adults had a great time talking on many differnt topics from the new mission age to politics to family.  What a pleasure it was to bask in the joy of family.

After staying up late Friday we all slept in on Saturday.  At about 1:00 everyone was finally ready to leave.  Angela, Glenn, Ruth and Jeff went to Williamsburg and we drove home.  The kids did not want to leave and can't wait to see their cousins again.

It was nice to be home with Derek.  He had been hunting that morning and got his 4th deer for this season.  He is happy to have meat in the freezer.

I love being with family.  I love both families that I am apart of as well as the one Derek and I are forming.  As I bask in the love of family I am reminded of what is truly important.  That we are on this earth to form families and to continue those relationships throughout eternity.  I look forward to being with my loved ones throughout this life and throughout the eternities to come. 



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